Tag: New England

Former Alabama QB Mac Jones puts huge emphasis on nutrition and wellness

Despite making a Pro Bowl appearance as a rookie, Mac Jones will be in the race for Most Improved Player this season.

After a rookie campaign that concluded with a Pro Bowl appearance, [autotag]Mac Jones[/autotag] is ready to make a monumental jump in year two. The former Crimson Tide signal caller really put an emphasis on nutrition and wellness this off-season with wide receiver Kendrick Bourne saying, “He’s in the best shape of his life.”

Jones came into the NFL a little plump, as almost everyone has seen the viral photo of him smoking the cigar after beating Tennessee.

However, Jones has spent loads of time this off-season with New England Patriots strength and conditioning coach Moses Cabrera and with the team nutritionist Ted Harper.

“For me, cleaning up my diet — I’ve probably learned more this offseason than I ever have about my diet, sleep, nutrition, wellness, all that stuff. I’ve taken what I’ve learned that I feel will help me and applied it. Obviously, listening to Ted and everybody, following their plan, eating healthy, taking out a lot of the things that are bad for my diet,” Jones said.

While it has been important to cut off a lot of that body fat, Jones adds that it is also important to maintain a certain level of weight to absorb the blows he will take throughout the course of an NFL season.

On top of all of this, he has spent a lot of time with throwing coach Tom House, who spent a lot of time working with Tom Brady over the duration of his career. Jones is poised to have a massive breakout season in year two.

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5 potential landing spots for Kyren Willams in NFL draft

Where do you hope to see Kyren playing this fall?

Former Notre Dame star running back Kyren Williams likely won’t be the first or second ball carrier to have his name called in this spring’s NFL draft but could very easily be the third or fourth.  He doesn’t have ideal size or breakaway speed but there isn’t necessarily a weakness in his game, either.

He isn’t the ideal running back in terms of being a draft prospect but certainly has the skills that should make someone’s offense improved.  Where would his best chance of NFL success be?  And what teams would make the most sense to draft Williams?

Here are five of the best potential landing spots for the two-time Notre Dame leading rusher.

Related:

The best photos of Kyren Williams at Notre Dame

Every Notre Dame leading rusher since start of Lou Holtz era

Bills TE Dawson Knox on his historic performance in wild-card win

#Bills TE Dawson Knox on his historic performance in wild-card win:

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Bills TE Dawson Knox had a career year in the regular season and is already making big plays in the postseason as well.

In the first round of the playoffs, Buffalo turned in a historic 47-17 win that featured a touchdown on every one of their seven offensive drives.

Knox was a big part of starting that run.

He hauled in the first two scores of the day, becoming the first TE in NFL history with two receiving touchdowns in the first quarter of a playoff game.

He also became the first Bills tight end with two scoring catches in a playoff game and the first franchise player since Bill Brooks in (1994 vs. LA Raiders) with multiple touchdown receptions in a single postseason game.

The third-year pro out of Ole Miss would finish the day a perfect five-for-five and lead all receivers with 89 yards.

At 25 years old, Knox has taken the next step in his development to become an impact player for the Bills, setting the single-season franchise mark for touchdown catches by a TE.

That progression has now translated into the postseason as well.

“We always talk about starting fast and when we get the ball first we want to put seven on the board,” Knox said while addressing the media after the game.

“This league’s just a week-by-week deal, we’ve seen that this year. It’s been a roller coaster of ups and downs, but you’ve got to treat every game with a life of its own,” he continued. “You can’t just assume we’re going to go out and do the same next week, we got to put in the work every single day when we talk about being championship caliber, and that starts tomorrow with the film correcting all the mistakes. And just enjoying the win but at the same time being ready to move on to the next opponent.”

Knox will have a chance to do just that as he and the teams’ focus now turns to their preparations for the second round of the playoffs.

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Bills QB Josh Allen’s historic streak continues in playoff win

#Bills QB Josh Allen’s historic streak continues in playoff win:

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Bills QB Josh Allen is no stranger to making history.

In only his fourth year in the league, he’s done plenty of both already and shows no sign of slowing down or stopping anytime soon.

Recently he has been on a streak of record-setting performances, some of which have been showcased at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

That streak continued in Saturday’s contest, as Allen made more history.

 

Allen went 21/25 throwing more scoring tosses (5) than incompletions (4) on his way to becoming the first QB in NFL history to go for 300-plus passing yards with five-TDs, and 60-plus yards rushing. He also became the first player in league history with 5 passing TDs, an 80% completion percentage, and 50-plus rushing yards.

With the win, Allen had his fourth career playoff game with 250+ yards passing and 50+ rushing, which is significant in that he is the only player in the Super Bowl era with more than two.

His five passing touchdowns in the game were a new Bills single-game playoff record as well.

One thing that is exciting for Bills fans and concerning for their future opponents is that at age 25 we likely haven’t even seen Allen’s ceiling as to what he can achieve.

In Saturday’s contest, he would lead the Bills offense to a touchdown on every offensive drive that he was under center, racking up seven total TDs for 47 points and 482 total yards on the day.

His impressive numbers left many with few words to describe them, including Bills TE Dawson Knox.

“When you throw more touchdowns than incompletions I think that speaks for itself, ” Knox said while addressing the media after the game. “There’s not much to be said when you have stats like that.”

“I mean obviously, the plays that he’s made all year is incredible, I think his passer rating was almost perfect tonight and it’s insane so it’s fun,” he added about Allen.

As head coach Sean McDermott points out, the progression from the raw talent Allen showed on arrival to the NFL to the dominant performance in Sunday’s win, is the result of his work in the weeks before games.

“It’s fun to watch young players develop. There’s a lot that goes into that,” McDermott said during his postgame press conference. “And number one is the player, in this case, Josh, taking great ownership of his development and his preparation this week is what led him to the results you saw on the field.”

Allen will look to continue to put the preparation in ahead of Buffalo’s next playoff game, as Buffalo moves a step forward in the direction of the Super Bowl.

One thing that’s become clear, is that the QB is preparing and playing at the next level the Bills will need him to if they are to reach it.

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Josh Allen admits he tried to throw away first Bills TD to Dawson Knox

Josh Allen to Dawson Knox the first time was a thing of beauty that was never supposed to happen: ‘I thought I threw the ball away’

Bills TE Dawson Knox turned in a memorable 2 TD performance Saturday, becoming the first TE in NFL history to do so in the first quarter of a playoff game.

He caught every one of his five targets for 89 yards in the Bills’ seven TD 47-17 win over the Patriots.

That included an impressive toe-tap grab in the back of the endzone that had an 18.4% completion percentage, per NFL Next Gen Stats.

It was the second-most-improbable TD catch of the 25-year old’s career, and it turns out there was more than one reason for that.

After the game, Knox shared what he saw then learned from QB Josh Allen during and after the play.

“It’s just another scramble drill, and we know how many incredible plays he’s made on the move this year,” Knox said while addressing the media.

“So I was just kind of moving around on the back of the end zone looking at him and he threw the ball up and I thought he was throwing it to me, and I was like ‘wait I can get this one’. Thankfully caught it, celebrated, got to the sideline, I was like ‘thanks man, thanks for throwing it up, giving me a chance’, and he was like ‘I meant to throw it away!’

The special catch did not go unnoticed by his quarterback either.

“That’s what I was trying to do,” Allen joked at first while addressing the press. “Honestly, I thought I threw the ball away, he made an unbelievable play.”

“I did not mean for that to happen but Dawson was in the right place at the right time, ” he added regarding the heads-up play.

Knox set the Bills franchise record for TD catches in a single season this year by a TE and has been opening some eyes and turning some heads with his improved level of play.

He has the right quarterback for the job, as Allen has become known for eye-opening plays and performances on the field as well.

The sequence may sound familiar to NFL fans. Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers made headlines last season with a similar throw-away play to the same corner of the endzone, only to have RB Jamall Williams catch it.

Knox certainly didn’t seem to mind one bit.

“You know, it just worked out for us.”

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Bills vs. Patriots: 3 keys to a Buffalo wild-card win

Bills vs. Patriots: 3 keys to a Buffalo wild-card win:

If there is still any question as to who the top team in the AFC East is, it will be answered this weekend.

The No. 3 seeded Bills will play the No. 6 seed Patriots who earned a Wild Card spot despite dropping three of their last four games. Buffalo, meanwhile, is riding the momentum of a four-game win streak that includes a victory in Foxborough and three wins at home in Orchard Park.

The teams meet there in Western New York this Saturday at 8:15 p.m. ET, with the chance to have the final say as to who the better squad is.

With that, here are three keys to a win for the Bills (11-6) against the Patriots (10-7):

Bills WR Isaiah McKenzie has career game against Patriots

#Bills WR Isaiah McKenzie has career game against #Patriots:

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Bills WR Isaiah McKenzie had a big game in Sunday’s 33-21 win over the Patriots in New England.

In fact, it was his biggest yet in his NFL career.

Buffalo was shorthanded with WR’s Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis as well as RB Matt Breida out and needed the 26-year-old to step up.

The 5-8, 173 lb McKenzie did just that, leading all receivers in playing 85.3% of the game’s offensive snaps while going 11-for-12 and 125 yards with one touchdown while averaging 11.4 yards per reception.

His 11 catches tied the most by a Bill this season with Cole Beasley’s 11 against Washington, and his 125-yards were second-most only to WR Stefon Diggs’s 162 against the Jets. His 103 receiving yards in the second half were the most in a half by any Buffalo player this season.

What’s more, his 11 catches, 12 targets, and 125 receiving yards were all career highs for the fifth-year pro out of Georgia.

The slot, a position where Beasley is second in the NFL in catches (63) and is Buffalo’s second-leading receiver this season, is just where McKenzie would haul in seven of his 11 receptions for 89 yards including his touchdown catch.

His impact was significant on third down (where Beasley is the second most frequented target after Diggs) and on fourth down as well, with four catches on four targets for 32 yards and the TD.

He also helped in the absence of Breida, who has averaged 10.3 yards per catch receiving with two touchdowns this season, and who played at RB, WR, and as a kick returner in Week 13 against New England.

McKenzie was averaging 5.4 yards per reception with only seven catches on the season. He’d also never had 70 or more yards receiving in a single game in his career.

However, as noted in our 3 keys to a Buffalo win, the 26-year-old speedster averaged 9.9 yards per reception in 2018, and 9.4 yards per reception in the 2019 and 2020 seasons with five touchdowns last season for Buffalo.

He spent time returning kicks and as a “gadget player” in a number of positions, including running back. He’s even filled in at cornerback in one game as a Bill and thrown a touchdown to QB Josh Allen in another.

In 2021 McKenzie’s played as a return man but was benched for fumbling issues and missed the first meeting with the Patriots.

To say he bounced back in his return to gameplay may be an understatement.

His impact was perhaps no more visible on the day than when he came through in the final seven-plus minutes of the fourth quarter on Sunday for two big back-to-back plays. The first for 17 yards on third down, and the second a sideline catch for 15 yards in which he laid out to make the stretch grab, landing hard on top of the football.

Those plays were a part of a scoring drive that sealed the win, giving the Bills a 9-6 record along with an 88.7% chance to win the AFC East, per ESPN’s Football Power Index.

As for McKenzie, his selfless mindset was on display after the game.

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Bills’ Josh Allen becomes first player in NFL history with unique milestone

#Bills’ Josh Allen becomes first player in NFL history with unique milestone

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Josh Allen has again become the only player in NFL history to accomplish a unique feat.

With his second touchdown pass of the day on Sunday’s 33-21 win against New England, Allen became the first player in league history with 100 passing touchdowns and 20 rushing touchdowns in their first four seasons.

His first TD of the day was a three-yard pass to Isaiah McKenzie, executing on fourth-and-two in the red zone near the end of the first quarter.

Allen then led an offensive charge downfield in the final two minutes of the half to hit Stefon Diggs in the end-zone on third-down, threading the needle for 12 yards and the score:

 

 

In all, he would go 30-47 with 314 yards and three touchdown tosses while leading the team in rushing with 64 yards on 12 carries. The win over the Patriots also moved the Bills back into first place in the AFC East.

With his 100 passing touchdowns in his first four seasons, the 25-year-old QB became the first player in Bills history and ninth all-time to throw as many in their first four years in the league.

In the first half of today’s game between those first and second touchdowns, he also became Buffalo’s first-ever quarterback to have multiple seasons with 350-plus completions. He also surpassed 4,000 yards passing for the season during the game, becoming the only player in Bills history with multiple 4,000-plus passing yard seasons.

He is also on pace to possibly break another Bills record. His own, that is. 

Should Allen end the season with 38 or more passing touchdowns, it will best the all-time Buffalo mark he set last season, in which 37 of his 46 total scores were through the air.

Becoming the first and only player in NFL history to accomplish unique achievements has been part of Allen’s ascension early in his career.

He is also the only player in the history of the league to log three consecutive seasons of seven-or-more rushing touchdowns.

Allen is the only NFL player in history with 400-plus passing yards, 30-plus passing TD’s, and eight-plus rushing TD’s in a single season. He is also the only player in league history to have had three consecutive seasons with seven-or-more rushing touchdowns. And he was the first player in NFL history to have two games in a season with three-plus passing TD’s and 400-plus passing yards and zero interceptions with a 130-plus passer rating.

The Bills will next face the Falcons and Jets, whose defenses present the opportunity to do just that, so there may be some more records broken by Allen before the end of the regular season.

As for the QB, his focus will be solely on execution and winning those games.

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What Josh Allen said about Bills offensive line in win over Patriots

What Josh Allen said about #Bills offensive line in win over #Patriots:

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The Bills had a lot to feel good about in their 33-21 win over their division rival Patriots.

They are now back in first place in the AFC East with a chance to win the division and make the playoffs.

QB Josh Allen and the Bills offense had a big day despite missing weapons from WR’s Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis to RB Matt Breida.

The player shortage raised questions ahead of the game as to whether the Bills would be able to adjust in terms of replacing their productivity.

But thanks to a big day by those who did play, Buffalo leaves Foxborough with the victory and is now back on top in the division.

After the game, it was pointed out by a member of the press that the QB didn’t get sacked and threw for over 300-plus yards while the team went for 100-plus rushing yards as well.

When asked about the difference his offensive line made in the win, Allen was outspoken about how impressed he was with that unit.

“Again, adversity, guys being pulled out, you know Ryan Bates stepping up, he played fantastic, Ike [Boettger] goes down, Dion comes back in after being at home with COVID and not really knowing much of the game plan, and not actually practicing the gameplan, that’s really tough to do. I’m so happy for our guys in how they responded”

Still, Allen knows the Bills’ job isn’t done with this game. And he was to that very point in saying so.

“Again, we have two games left and we got to keep going.”

It does turn out there also may have been a little extra under the tree this year that arrived right on time to help inspire the linemen’s effort as well as Allen bought watches for each of them.

“I think it was the Christmas presents I got them, they were pumped up and they played a little harder for them,” Allen said. “It never hurts to treat those big guys, and I’m super proud.”

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Bills at Patriots: 3 keys to a Buffalo win

#Bills at #Patriots: 3 keys to a Buffalo win:

The Buffalo Bills are coming into Foxborough energized from a win last week against the Carolina Panthers that saw an electric performance on offense and an on-brand defensive effort.

Buffalo played with a competitive fire they’ll need to win out the final few games of the regular season and make the playoffs.

At home against Carolina, the Bills looked a lot more like the team that won four straight games early in the season, and less like the one that had lost their two previous outings.

One of those contests was against none other than this week’s opponent, their AFC rival New England Patriots.

With Josh Allen and company dialed into what they need to do in order to charge into the postseason, and with the Patriots standing in their way, the matchup has even greater implications.

So with the AFC East title up for grabs, here are three keys to a win for the Bills (8-6) against the Patriots (9-5):